Clothes pole



Aug. 24, 1948. R. J. sfHoPPE CLOTHES POLE Filed Sept. 17, 1947 R m n WRICHARD J. S. HOPPE .Br/W Hrw-@fever i Patented Aug. 2,4, 1948 UNITEDSTATES PATENT QFFICE 12,447,614., Y Y l oLorHEs come Richard J. s.nappe, Maplewood, Mo.

Application September 17, 1947, Serial No. 774,651

3 Claims.

This invention relates to clothes poles, and vhas l for its principalobject the production of a pole which will permit'the hanging of clothesupon a line in association therewitnand the raising and lowering of theline, without the stretching and effort on the part of the operatorwhich are necessary with the use of the ordinary clothes pole asheretofore made.

In the use of clothes poles as previously known, the line associatedtherewith must be stretchedf very tautly, for unless it is lthe clothespole will easily become disengaged therefrom,V and this tautness makesit an arduous task to raise the line when the clothes have been hung.For this reason it is necessary that the line be stretched at such aheight that tvrequires4 a considerable amount of stretching and reachingon the part of the operator to place the clothes thereon, and also agood deal of strength must be used to raise the taut line still higherin order to insure sutilcient clearance between the clothes and theground. These movements are particularly i411- jurious to women, andfrequently result in damage to the delicate internal organs of theperson hanging the clothes.

Through the use of my new clothes pole all this reaching and stretchingis avoided, When the line has been stretched at a height which is withineasy reach of the operator, my pole is simply placed in association withthe line as will be later described, and by merely turning the pole itis so securely engaged with the line that there is no danger of itsbecoming disengaged; and since the line in the rst place has not beenstretched so tautly, it does not require as much strength to push it upto the desired height.

Additional advantages of my clothes pole are that it is light in weight,being preferably formed almost entirely of aluminum, and it ha-s noparts that can be damaged or get out of order with ordinary usage. It issimple in construction, and therefore can be cheaply and quicklyproduced at low cost. It does not require any expensive or specialclothesline, but is intended for use with the ordinary line which is ingeneral use for this purpose.

In the drawings- Fig. 1 is an elevational view of my clothes pole on areduced scale.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal, sectional view, partly broken away,illustrating particularly the locking means of my pole.

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional View taken on the line 3 3, Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is an elevational view of my clothes pole 2 as itappears whenin'operating engagement with a clothesline. y Y

Fig. 5 is a view' similar to Fig.- 4 but taken from a diierent angle.

' Fig. 6 is a top plan view of the pole in operative engagement with aclothesline.

The invention comprises a pole I formed of tulduilar` metal, preferablyaluminum for the sake of its light weight, and open at both ends, and acomparatively short, cylindrical member Zfof slightly less diameter thanthe pole I is mounted in the upper end of the pole and rigidly lsecuredin positionv by a vrivet 3. rEhe member 2 extends ybeyond tnetcp cfdiepere, and at its upnerend dares outwardly to the point shown aty 4,where its diameter is greater'than the diameter off the pole I. The'cylindricalmember` 2- is provided 'with grooves 5 for a purpose to `behereinafter set forth.

A circular mem-berr 6 havinga vertical, circum- 'ferential wall 'I ismounted around the top of the cylindrical member 2,and said circularmember isfbifurc'ated to formv two upstanding arms Riso `shaped thattheir-lowerportions are curved outwardly to meet the top edge of thevertical wall 'I, as most-clearly shownf in Fig; 21, andjleaving a"groov'e'' between' the arms 8. The circular mem-- ber 6 has inwardlyextending lugs 9 which register with the grooves 5 and are securedtherein in any suitable manner to provide a rigid connection betweensaid bifurcated member and the cylindrical member 2.

A peculiarly shaped circular element Ill surrounds the member 2 and ispositioned between the tubular pole I and the member 6. The element I0has a central aperture of slightly greater diameter than the member 2and is adapted to be seated upon the top edge of the tubular pole I, asat II. The element I0 flares outwardly to the point indicated at I2,where it forms a narrow vertical wall I3. At regularly spaced intervalsthe wall I3 has a plurality of upwardly extending ears I4, each of whichterminates at its upper end in a slightly rounded point I5 and is shapedto form a short curved section I6, which meets the edge of the wall I3.The shape of the ears I4 is most clearly illustrated in Figs, 4 and 5.

At the center of its upper surface the element IE! is provided with acircular cut-out portion I1 of the same depth and diameter` as the wall'I of the bifurcated element 6, and the element I0 has a pair of lugs I8which extend inwardly from its central aperture I'I into the grooves 5of the member 2', so that by virtue of the engagement of said lugs I8and grooves 5 the element I0 is longitudinally slidable upon thecylindrical member 2 and at the same time prevented from rotatingthereon.

At the lower open end of the tubular pole I a plug I9 is insertedthereinto an-d permitted to extend for a short distance beyond the pole.The plug I9 is secured within the pole by means of a rivet 20, and itsend which extends beyond the pole is of rounded contour, as shown inFig. 1, to facilitate its gripping engagement with the ground when inuse.

In operation the procedure is as follows:

Suppose an ordinary clothesline L has been stretched at a height that iswithin easy reach of the person hanging out clothes. When the clotheshave been placed thereon, and th'e line is to be raised, the pole isplaced in position so that a section of the line L rests within thegroove 8'. Gripping the pole I the operator turns it approximately ahalf-turn or a little more to the right and then pushes the element Iupwardly on the member 2 until the wall portion 1 of the member 6 isseated in the aperture l1, and then turns the pole slightly in theopposite direction, which has the eiect of catching the line L in thecurved sections I6 of the ears I4, Where it is securely locked, the endsI preventing the line from slipping out of the curved sections. The lineL is now in firm interlocking engagement with th'e pole and may beraised by pushing the upper end of the pole to the desired height. Theplug I9 is placed in gripping engagement with the ground, and the entireassembly is firmly held in position and proof against accidentaldisengagement of the line L from the pole.

When the pole is to be removed from the line, it is merely turned to theright approximately one-fourth of a turn, which disengages the line Lfrom the ears I4, allowing the member 6 to drop to its seat upon the topof the pole I. Then by loosening of the operators grip on the pole, thepole will turn to the left due to the pressure of the line L around thearms 8, and the line Will be fully released from engagement with thepole.

I claim: Y

1.'A clothes pole adapted to be associated with a clothesline, andcomprising a pole having at its upper end a cylindrical membersurmounted by a bifurcated member for engagement with said clothesline,and an element surrounding said cylindrical member and slidable thereon,said element having means for engagement with said clothesline adaptedto prevent disengagement of said clothesline from said pole.

2. A clothes pole adapted to be associated with a clothesline, andcomprising a pole having at its upper end a grooved cylindrical membersurmounted by a bifurcated member for engagement with said clothesline,and an element surrounding said cylindrical member and provided withmeans in registration with the grooves thereof to render said elementand said cylindrical member slidable but not rotatable with' respect toeach other, said element having means for engagement with saidclothesline adapted to prevent disengagement of said clothesline fromsaid pole.

3. A clothes pole adapted to be associated with -a clothesline, andcomprising a pole having at its upper end a grooved cylindrical membersurmounted by a bifurcated member for engagement with said clothesline,portions of said bifurcated member being rigidly secured in the groovesof said cylindrical member, and an element surrounding said cylindricalmember and provided with' means in registration with the grooves thereofto render said element and said cylindrical member slidable but notrotatable with respect to each other, said element having means forengagement with said clothesline adapted to prevent disengagement ofsaid clothesline from said pole.

RICHARD J. S. HOPPE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,732,627 Wilson Oct. 22, 19291,817,568 Knoth Aug. 4, 1931 2,231,531 Epler Feb. 11, 1941

